Opening roof for vehicles

ABSTRACT

In a vehicle opening roof a longitudinally extending roof opening is adapted to be closed by a fabric covering fixed at its rear end to the roof and supported by a number of cross-members which are guided in guide flanges extending along each side of the opening. Releasable stop means incorporated for holding the covering in an intermediate open position are resiliently urged into engagement with a part of one cross-member to maintain the covering rearwardly of that cross-member in close contact with the roof.

I United States Patent [151 3,666,318 Butler 1451 May 30,1972

[s4] OPENING ROOF FOR VEHICLES 2,991,094 7/1961 Bair ..296/l37 R 1lnvemofl James Butler, p y. England FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 1Assisnw vlveahershields Limited, Birmingham, 514,269 9/1952 Belgium..296/l37 D g an 22 F"! d: M 21, 1970 Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh 1l e 83! Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song [2|] Appl. No.: 39,474Attorney-Scrivener, Parker, Scrivener and Clarke [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT in a vehicle opening roof alongitudinally extending roof open- Great Bmam "26'338/69 ing is adaptedto be closed by a fabric covering fixed at its rear end to the roof andsupported by a number of cross-members which are guided in guide flangesamending along each side of [58] Fie'ld g i' C 137 D the opening.Releasable stop means incorporated for holding the covering in anintermediate open position are resiliently [56] References Ched urgedinto engagement with a part of one cross-member to maintain the coveringrearwardly of that cross-member in UMTED STATES PATENTS close contactwith the roof.

l,950,371 3/ I934 Bair ..296/] 37 C 8 Claims, 4 Drawing FiguresFATENTEDNAY 30 I972 SHEET 10F 2 PATENTEDMAY30 1912 3666,1318

SHEET 2 BF 2 OPENING ROOF FOR VEHICLES SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION Thisinvention relates to opening roofs for vehicles such as saloon cars ofthe kind in which a flexible fabric covering is supported by a number ofslidably mounted cross-members which are guided at their ends in guideflanges or rails extending along each side of a longitudinal opening inthe roof, one end of the covering being fixed to the roof at acorresponding end of the opening, usually the rear end, and the flexiblecovering being normally movable manually between a closed position inwhich the opening is covered and an open position in which substantiallythe complete opening is exposed.

According to our invention in an opening roof of the kind set forth stopmeans are provided for holding the flexible covering in an intermediateopen position, the stop means being resiliently urged into engagementwith a part of one of the cross-members to maintain the longitudinalsides of the portion of the fabric covering between that point of theengagement and the fixed end of the covering in close contact with theroof, and the stop means being releasable from engagement with that partto permit the covering to be moved into the open position.

Preferably, the stop means comprise two stop assemblies each located atone side of the longitudinal opening and adapted to engage with a partof the said one cross-member which faces the fixed end of the covering.

Preferably the covering is fixed at its rear end to the roof at the rearend of the opening and the portion of the covering rearwardly of thepoint of engagement of the stop means and the rear end of the coveringis in close contact with the roof.

To ensure that the portion of the covering rearwardly of the point ofengagement with the stop means is held in close contact with the roof,the said one cross-member and the cross member or members between it andthe fixed end of the fabric covering are attached to the fabricthroughout the axial length of the members.

This ensures that when the covering is in the intermediate position theportion of the covering rearwardly of the said one cross-member isunable to move relative to the said one crossmember. Thus flapping ofthat portion relative to the roof is prevented and draughts over thearea of the opening enclosed by that portion, and rearwardly of thefront seats of the vehicle, are substantially eliminated.

The fabric covering is conveniently attached to the crossmembers by thethreading of the cross-members through loops on the underside of thecovering. Where there is a head lining as well as the covering, thecross-members are threaded through loops on the underside of thecovering alternating with loops on the upper side of the head lining.

One embodiment of our invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the rear portion of a vehicle opening roof witha portion of the flexible fabric covering omitted for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a section of the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing stop means in anoperative position;

FIG. 3 is a section similar to FIG. 2, but showing the stop means in aninoperative position; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a connection between across-member, the head lining and the flexible fabric covering of theroof.

In the opening roof illustrated in the drawings is a longitudinalopening in the roof of a vehicle. The opening 10 is rectangular andextends for substantially the full length of the roof. A water checkframe 11 extends along each side of the opening 10 and across the frontand comprises parallel side members 12 and a front end member (notshown). The side members 12 of the watercheck frame 11 are of H sectionand include a pair of outwardly extending parallel flanges 13 betweenwhich is secured a portion 14 of the roof at that side of the opening10, and a pair of inwardly extending parallel flanges 15 and 16 of whichthe lowermost flange 16 is of greater length than the flange 15.

A flexible fabric covering 17 for the opening 10 is supported by aseries of cross-members of which only two are indicated at 18 and 19.The cross-members 18 and 19 are slidably guided at opposite ends on theflanges 16 of the side members 12. Each of the slidably guidedcross-members is formed by a length of tube of circular or otherconvenient cross section. The ends of the tube are flattened, and ashort distance in from each end a depending bracket 20 is secured to thecrossmember and carries a runner 21 of synthetic plastics material,suitably polypropylene, engaging slidably with the guide flange 16.

It will be appreciated that all the cross-members are curved to conformto the transverse curvature of the roof and are threaded through loops22 which are secured to the underside of the fabric covering 17. Asillustrated in FIG. 4 when there is a head lining 23 as well as thefabric covering 17, the crossmembers are threaded through the loop 27alternating with loop 24 on the upper side of the head lining 23.

The fabric covering 17 is of a greater width than the roof opening 10,so that its side edges overlap the roof at each side of the opening 10,and the rear end of the fabric covering 17 is secured to the roof at therear end of the opening 10. The fabric covering 17 is movable manuallyin a rearward direction to expose substantially the complete opening 10by sliding the front cross-member rearwardly on the flange 16 which inturn slides each of the remaining cross-members in the same direction.To cover the opening, the front crossmember is moved manually towardsthe front of the roof until it abuts against front end member of thewatercheck frame to which is releasably latched by suitable manuallyoperable means (not shown).

The flexible covering may be held in an intermediate open position bystop means in accordance with our invention. As illustrated in FIGS. 1to 3 of the accompanying drawings a stop assembly 25 is provided at eachside of longitudinal opening 10. Each stop assembly 25 comprises anupstanding pin or peg 26 mounted adjacent to the free end of a resilientstrip of metal 27 in a position normal to the plane of the strip 27. Theother end of the strip 27 is anchored for rotational movement in amounting, conveniently a screw and washer assembly 28, fixed in thelower outwardly extending flange 13 of the watercheck frame side member12. In its operative position the pin or peg 26 projects upwardlythrough an opening 29 in the guiding flange 16 at a position spacedslightly rearwardly from, or closely adjacent to, the rear edge of thecross member 19. Thus the pin or peg 16 projects into the path of thecross-member 19 to engage substantially with its rearmost edge. The pinor peg 26 is held in that position due to the resilient of the metalstrip 25.

The pins or pegs 26 form stops preventing rearward movement of thecross-member 19 and portion of the fabric covering 17 rearwardly of thecross-member 19. Thus, with the pins or pegs 26 in their operativepositions the fabric covering 17 can be moved rearwardly to uncover afront portion of the opening 10 only. The portion of the fabric covering17 to the rear of the cross-member 19 is unable to move rearwardly.Since the cross-member l8 and 19 are coupled to the fabric covering 17for the whole of their lengths, flapping of the portion of the fabriccovering 17 to the rear of the cross-member 19 is prevented and draughtsover the area of the opening 10 which is enclosed by that portion,normally positioned to the rear of the front seals of the vehicle, aresubstantially eliminated.

When it is desired to uncover substantially the complete opening 10, thepins or pegs 26 are withdrawn from their engagements in the openings 29against the resilience of the strip 27 by applying a downwardly directedforce to finger pieces 30 at the free ends of the strips 27. The strips27 are then moved angularly in outward directions through small arcsabout the mountings 28 as axes into inoperative positions in which thepins or pegs are received in openings 31 in the lowermost outwardlyextending flange 13 of the watercheck frame side members 12, as shown inFIG. 3.

I claim:

1. In an opening roof for a vehicle including a flexible fabric fixed atone end to a corresponding end of a longitudinal opening in the roof ofa vehicle and adapted to be moved manually between a closed position inwhich the opening is covered and an open position in which substantiallythe complete opening is exposed, a guide flange extending along eachside of said opening, and a number of cross-members supporting saidflexible covering and guided at opposite ends in said guide flanges theimprovement comprising stop means movably mounted on said guide flangefor holding said flexible covering in a position intermediate said openand closed positions, resilient means incorporated in said stop meansfor urging said stop means into engagement with a part of one of saidcross-members to maintain in close contact with the roof longitudinalsides of that portion of said fabric covering lying between thepoint ofengagement of said stop means with said one cross-member and said fixedend of said flexible covering, and manually operable means for movingsaid stop means with respect to said guide flange into an inoperativeposition whereby said flexible covering can be moved into said openposition.

2. The improvement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stop meanscomprises two stop assemblies adapted to engage with parts of said onecross-member which face said fixed end of said covering and each of saidstop assemblies is located at one side of said longitudinal opening.

3. The improvement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stop meanscomprises two stop assemblies and each stop assembly is located at oneside of said longitudinal opening, each stop assembly comprising anupstanding pin, a mounting carried by said guide flange, a resilientstrip carrying said pin and anchored for rotational movement in saidmounting about an axis normal to the plane of said flange, said stripbeing angularly movable about said axis between an operative position,in which said pin projects through an opening in said flange into thepath of movement in a direction towards said fixed end of said coveringof said one cross member to act as a stop preventing movement of saidone cross-member in that direction, and an inoperative position spacedoutwardly from said flange opening, after said pin has been withdrawnfrom said flange opening against the loading of said resilient strip.

4. The improvement as claimed in claim 3, wherein said flanges uponwhich said cross-members are guided are incorporated in parallelside-members of a water check frame, and at a point outwardly from saidflange opening in which said pin is received in said operative position,each side-member is provided with an opening in which said pin or peg isreceived when in its inoperative position, said opening in said sidemember lying on an arc containing the center of said flange opening andhaving its center at the axis of rotation of said strip by which saidpin is carried.

5. The improvement as claimed in claim 1, including means for fixingsaid fabric covering at its rear end to said roof at the rear end ofsaid longitudinal opening whereby the portion of said coveringrearwardly of said point of engagement and said rear end of the coveringis in close contact with said roof.

6. The improvement as claimed in claim 5, wherein said one cross-memberand at least one other cross-member located between said onecross-member and said fixed end of said fabric covering are attached tosaid fabric throughout the axial length of said cross-members.

7. The improvement as claimed in claim 6, wherein said fabric coveringis attached to said cross-members by means of loops on the underside ofsaid fabric covering through which said cross-members are threaded.

8. The improvement as claimed in claim 6, including a head lining,wherein said fabric covering and said head lining are both attached tosaid cross-members by means of loops on the underside of said coveringand loops on the upper side of said head lining through which saidcross-members are threaded alternately.

1. In an opening roof for a vehicle including a flexible fabric fixed atone end to a corresponding end of a longitudinal opening in the roof ofa vehicle and adapted to be moved manually between a closed position inwhich the opening is covered and an open position in which substantiallythe complete opening is exposed, a guide flange extending along eachside of said opening, and a number of cross-members supporting saidflexible covering and guided at opposite ends in said guide flanges theimprovement comprising stop means movably mounted on said guide flangefor holding said flexible covering in a position intermediate said openand closed positions, resilient means incorporated in said stop meansfor urging said stop means into engagement with a part of one of saidcross-members to maintain in close contact with the roof longitudinalsides of that portion of said fabric covering lying between the point ofengagement of said stop means with said one cross-member and said fixedend of said flexible covering, and manually operable means for movingsaid stop means with respect to said guide flange into an inoperativeposition whereby said flexible covering can be moved into said openposition.
 2. The improvement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stopmeans comprises two stop assemblies adapted to engage with parts of saidone cross-member which face said fixed end of said covering and each ofsaid stop assemblies is located at one side of said longitudinalopening.
 3. The improvement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stopmeans comprises two stop assemblies and each stop assembly is located atone side of said longitudinal opening, each stop assembly comprising anupstanding pin, a mounting carried by said guide flange, a resilientstrip carrying said pin and anchored for rotational movement in saidmounting about an axis normal to the plane of said flange, said stripbeing angularly movable about said axis between an operative position,in which said pin projects through an opening in said flange into thepath of movement in a direction towards said fixed end of said coveringof said one cross member to act as a stop preventing movement of saidone cross-member in that direction, and an inoperative position spacedoutwardly from said flange opening, after said pin has been withdrawnfrom said flange opening against the loading of said resilient strip. 4.The improvement as claimed in claim 3, wherein said flanges upon whichsaid cross-members are guided are incorporated in parallel side-membersof a water check frame, and at a point outwardly from said flangeopening in which said pin is received in said operative position, eachside-member is provided with an opening in which said pin or peg isreceived when in its inoperAtive position, said opening in said sidemember lying on an arc containing the center of said flange opening andhaving its center at the axis of rotation of said strip by which saidpin is carried.
 5. The improvement as claimed in claim 1, includingmeans for fixing said fabric covering at its rear end to said roof atthe rear end of said longitudinal opening whereby the portion of saidcovering rearwardly of said point of engagement and said rear end of thecovering is in close contact with said roof.
 6. The improvement asclaimed in claim 5, wherein said one cross-member and at least one othercross-member located between said one cross-member and said fixed end ofsaid fabric covering are attached to said fabric throughout the axiallength of said cross-members.
 7. The improvement as claimed in claim 6,wherein said fabric covering is attached to said cross-members by meansof loops on the underside of said fabric covering through which saidcross-members are threaded.
 8. The improvement as claimed in claim 6,including a head lining, wherein said fabric covering and said headlining are both attached to said cross-members by means of loops on theunderside of said covering and loops on the upper side of said headlining through which said cross-members are threaded alternately.